Convertible towel costume



Dec. 19, 1961 c. B. DlKE CONVERTIBLE TOWEL COSTUME Filed Oct. 28, 1958 IN VENTOR: Char/offs 5. 17/705 ATTORNEYS 3,013,274 Patented Dec. 19, 1961 3,013,274 CONVERTIBLE TOWEL CGSTUME Charlotte B. Dike, 22 High St., Stoneham, Mass. Filed Oct. 28, 1958, Ser. No. 770,101 1 Uaim. (Cl. 2-69) The present invention relates to improvements in toweling articles which may be converted to function as apparel, and, in particular, to an improved low-cost towel which provides the full utility, appearance, and proportions of conventional bath towels and which is adapted for ready conversion into a short costume of cap-sleeve styling.

Bathand beach-wear made of towel-like fabrics have heretofore been proposed in a number of forms which enable the wearer to make some use of the articles for customary toweling purposes, perhaps inspired by a yet prior common expedient of bathers in forming temporary wrap-around apparel from toweling. Such articles have included some which are of broad expanse to cover substantially the entire body of the wearer for purposes of concealing or changing brief beach attire, the area of material being correspondingly large and disproportionate to towel dimensions. It has also been proposed that such articles be draped about the front and back of the wearer, this mode of attire being facilitated by large openings which accommodate the head and neck of the user and by accessory waist bands and by shaping of the material such that it may better conform to body contours. These practices have resulted in hybrid articles which have only some of the characteristics of towels and which have obviously makeshift form as garments.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a towel of bath-size regular proportions and form in which the surface area thereof is substantially uninterrupted by openings or fastener projections which would impair its use for conventional toweling purposes and which includes a fully closable opening having cooperating fasteners disposed to be completely covered by the towel material and enabling conversion of the towel to a short modish cap-sleeve costume.

By way of a summary account of practice of this invention in one of its aspects, 1 provide two sections of soft toweling material each in a rectangular form having a common uniform width slightly in excess of the shoulder width and a length slightly in excess of torso length of intended users having garment sizes within a given range. These two sections are permanently fastened together in end-to-end relationship, with a predetermined minimum overlap between ends thereof, by short rows of stitching which form seams extending from each of the two outer sides a small distance toward and short of the center by a predetermined amount. The central unstitched portion thus comprises short overlapped lengths of the two sections, the inner surfaces of which confront one another when brought togther. On each of these inner surfaces is disposed a number of small metal snap fastener elements which cooperate with those on the other of the surfaces to close the opening securely while being entirely enveloped within the toweling material. The resulting towel thus has its surface area uninterrupted and possesses substantially the same appearance and full utility of a conventional bath-size unit for toweling and handling purposes. Manual separation of the snap fasteners permits the towel to be drawn over the head of the user to form a short upper garment, with the two sections covering the front and back of the torso. Cooperating fasteners about midway along the side edges of the two joined sections permit them to be secured and drawn the sections together about the wearers waist. At such times, the aforementioned seams each lie along a different one of the shoulders of the user, and being somewhat stiffened by the multiple thickness of the normally limp material, tend to project outwardly beyond the shoulders in the style of cap sleeves.

Although the features of this invention which are believed to be novel are set forth in the appended claim, further details of the invention, and additional objects and advantages thereof, may be readily perceived through reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a pictorial representation of a convertible towel costume as fitted about the wearer;

FIGURE 2 is a pictorial illustration of the improved article showing further constructional details and an arrangement of fasteners; and

FIGURE 3 depicts the same article fully closed for use as a towel.

Having reference to the illustrations, the article 1 comprises soft toweling material of two joined sections, 2 and 3, each of about the same rectangular outline and about the same overall width and length. The two joined sections are further secured by relatively wide stitched border strips running fully along the length of the two sides, such as border strips 4 and 5 which are of doubled layers of material having a different color quality from that of the main body of the sections 2 and 3 to which they are sewn. The two sections are joined together in a modified end-to-end fashion in which they overlay for a relatively short distance 6, as noted 011' FIGURE 3, for two purposes discussed later herein. Their juncture is achieved in part by two short rows of stitching, '7 and 8, which extend from the outer edges a short distance toward but short of the longitudinal centerline of the towel, and in part by separable snap fastener elements which are disposed wholly within the confines of the overlapping portions in the vicinity of the centerline. Width 9 of the unstitched' central part of the overlapped sections is selected such that it equals at least half of the periphery of an opening required to pass the towel over the head of a user for wearing as in FIGURE 1, the central snap fasteners then being separated of course. An end 10 of one of the two sections, 2, is preferably folded back upon and stitched to the material of this section for a relatively short distance along spaced parallel lines 11 which extend longitudi nally of the article. In this manner, three pockets 12 are formed, and one side of section 2 is thus characterized as an outer front part when the towel is converted to apparel.

As viewed in FIGURE 3, the article is fully' closed across the central unsewn portion 13 by the snap fasten"- ers 14 and 15 which are enveloped by the overlapping layers of toweling material. When the article is used for drying or reclining purposes, it functions as though' it were one integral uninterrupted length of toweling, and the fasteners 14 and 15 are advantageously disposed where they cannot irritate the body of the user. Pockets 12 on but one side provide convenient receptacles for miscellaneous objects when the article is not used for drying purposes, and, when emptied, yet preserve the towel sufficiently soft and pliable to enable its use for drying in the customary manner. Moreover, the overall configuration and proportioning resemble those of a conventional bath towel, the total length and width in one typical construction in an adult size being about 54 and 21 inches, respectively. Border strips 4 and 5 are each about two inches in width. The further utility as apparel is rendered inconspicuous by these proportions and by the fully closed toweling surface. These factors promote acceptance and use of the towel as such, as

distinguished from contrary reactions induced by vast and awkwardly managed expanses of material having apertures through them. It should also be perceived that the transverse permanently-sewn seams 7 and 8 at the mid-position along the towel are relatively short and that the unstitched width 7 is of an ample dimension, one illustration of these seam and unstitched lengths being and 11 inches, respectively. The central opening is thus a relatively large one, and the short seams 7 and 8 would be subject to stressing and tearing as the area about the large opening was inadvertently caught and pulled during vigorous drying or laundering movements, were it not for the preventive closure of the opening afforded by the fasteners 14 and 15.

Conversion of the towel to a short costume is brought about through separation of the aforesaid fasteners 14 and 15 which close the unstitched portion 11, whereby the wearer may draw the joined front and rear sections 2 and 3 over front and rear body portions, as appears in FIGURE 1. The overall length of the item as worn is just somewhat in excess of the wearers torso height. Seams 7 and 8 lie atop the wearers shoulders, and the double folds of material appearing there and along the borders 4 and 5 tend to cause outer ends 16 and 17 of the shoulder portions to project outwardly and occasion the illustrated cap-sleeve shaping. Cooperating snap fastener elements 18 and 19, which are disposed along the borders about mid-way between the top and bottom of the item, as worn, serve to secure the two sections about the waist of the wearer on each side.

As appears in the FIGURES 2 and 3 illustrations, the section 2, which serves as a front part of the article when it is worn is disposed to overlap with the end of the back section 3 such that it lies under, or inside, the overlapped end of section 3 with which it is joined. The metal snap fastener halves 14 and 15' which are secured to the front section 2 are set atop the overlapping material of this section, facing the cooperating opposite snap fastener halves 14 and 15", respectively. With this arrangement, as seen in FIGURE 2, the fastener halves 14' and 15' are situated outermost as the article is pulled over the head of the user, and the projections thereof are not drawn across the face of the user. The various snap fasteners depicted are each conveniently of the well known two-part type in which one metal half includes a central opening about which the metal surfaces are radially deformable to receive and hold the cooperating central protuberance of the other half of the fastener.

It should be apparent that improved versatile constructions following these teachings are brought about with great simplicity and at minimal manufacturing cost. The specific embodiment illustrated is of a descriptive rather than limiting character, and it will be understood that variations may be made without departure from the spirit and scope of this invention as set forth in the appended claim.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A one-piece convertible fabric article comprising two substantially rectangular sections of toweling material of substantially equal width, at least one pair of short stitched seams permanently joining said sections together in a modified end-to-end relationship with material of one section overlapping that of the other for a short predetermined distance, said stitched seams being aligned and each extending transversely of said article from a different longer edge of said article toward and terminating short of the center of said article and leaving a central unstitched portion formed by overlapping ends of said sections which are separable to form an opening extending transversely of said article, separable fastener means having cooperating snap fastener elements of dimensions smaller than said distance disposed along those separable surfaces of the overlapping ends of said sections which face one another upon overlapping of said ends, whereby said cooperating snap fastener elements may be joined to secure said overlapping separable surfaces together and maintain said opening substantially closed with said fastener elements substantially concealed between material of said overlapping sections, a plurality of spaced stitched seams extending longitudinally of said article and securing together material of one of said sections in folded-back relationship at the free end of said section to form a plurality of pockets, said one section being of the same overall length as the other section and each section being substantially the torso height of an intended user, a pair of border strips of double thickness of said material each sewn to a different side edge of said joined sections and running the full length of said article, the width of said article including the widths of said border strips being just in excess of the acrossthe-shoulder dimension of the user, cooperating side snap fastener elements disposed at positions substantially a quarter of the way along said border strips for joining together two parts of each border strip which lie substantially midway between ends of each of said sections, whereby the head of the user may be passed through said transverse opening with said short seams lying atop the shoulders and with said side snap fastener elements securing said article about the waist of the user.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,386,595 Broman Aug. 9, 1921 1,432,249 Hoyme Oct. 17, 1922 2,736,900 Koren Mar. 6, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 21,656 Great Britain Oct. 28, 1914 2,065 Great Britain Feb. 9, 1915 234,949 Great Britain June 11, 1925 1,089,435 France Sept. 29, 1954 

